U.S. trucker released from Mexican prison, held by immigration

From left, Aletha Smith, Jabin Akeem Bogan s mother; his lawyer Carlos Spector; and another relative discuss Bogan's case at a news conference. Bogan was released by the Mexico after being held since April. He was immediately held by Mexican immigration authorities.

The U.S. truck driver who was imprisoned in Mexico after being convicted of ammunition charges in Juárez was released Thursday but was then immediately held by Mexican immigration authorities.

Jabin Akeem Bogan, 27, of Dallas, who has said he made a wrong turn and did not mean to enter Juárez with a truckload of ammunition, was released from the Veracruz prison, where he had been held since April. However, he was turned over to the custody of Mexican immigration authorities, U.S. Consulate officials in Juárez said Friday in an email.

Consulate officials did not explain why Bogan was held or when he is expected to return to the United States.

Bogan's lawyer in Mexico, Emilio de la Rosa, said that his client was released from the Veracruz prison Thursday night.

He declined to comment further.

The head of Mexico's immigration agency in Chihuahua, Humberto Uranga, said that Bogan was still in Veracruz on Friday afternoon in the custody of immigration officials.

Uranga said that Bogan was held in that state's immigration detention center while his immigration status in Mexico is cleared up.

Bogan will be sent to the United States from Veracruz, Uranga added.

He did not say how long Bogan will remain in Mexico, but said he will be in the U.S. soon.

It's not known where Bogan will cross into the U.S.

Uranga said that he did not know exactly why immigration officials would hold Bogan, but that it is likely he violated immigration laws when he entered Mexico with the ammunition. Uranga said U.S. citizens can travel into Mexico up to 18 miles without immigration papers unless there is a criminal charge.

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In an interview last week, Judge Carlos Miguel García Treviño of the 5th District Court, who oversaw the case, said Bogan was set to be freed after he paid a fine of about $1,500. The fine is part of Bogan's sentence, which also includes three years of supervised release. It is unclear how Bogan will be supervised in Mexico. The federal judge said that he found Bogan guilty of possession of ammunition and sentenced Bogan on Sept. 12.

Although the conviction has a punishment of up to six years in prison, the judge sentenced Bogan to half that time, which made it possible under Mexican law for him to finish his sentence outside prison with the payment of a fine.

The charge of possession of ammunition resulted after a federal magistrate court in August threw out a harsher charge of trafficking ammunition, which is punishable by up to 30 years in prison with no possibility of supervised release.

Bogan was in a maximum security federal prison in Villa Aldama, Veracruz, about 200 miles east of Mexico City. He was sent to that prison a couple of days after his arrest April 17.

Mexican authorities arrested Bogan after he crossed the Bridge of the Americas with 268,000 rounds of ammunition -- mostly .308- and .223-caliber rounds -- inside the container of the 18-wheeler he was driving.

Bogan's family and lawyers have said that the trucker made a mistake when he took a wrong exit on Loop 375 toward the international bridge because he was lost.

They have said that Bogan tried to return to the U.S. but that vehicle traffic at the bridge prevented him from doing so without having to cross to the Mexican customs inspection area in Juárez.

Bogan's employer, Demco Trans Inc. in Dallas, has said that the ammunition was supposed to be delivered to a wholesaler in Phoenix the day after Bogan was arrested.

Lorena Figueroa may be reached at lfigueroa@elpasotimes.com; 546-6129.

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